Thursday, August 4, 2011

Since this was my last baby, I didn’t have to worry about a neutral crib anymore, so I knew I was going to paint it. I also knew I would end up painting the dresser to match. Remember from Part 1 that the walls are orange and tan with a white chair rail? What color goes perfectly with that combination?

Since I ended up getting this paint only 5 days before my baby was born, I wanted to save as much time as possible. Eliminating the priming step was the perfect solution!

It sprayed on just as easily as Krylon’s Indoor/Outdoor spray paint and had the same great coverage Krylon is known for. The color is true to the cap and was exactly what I wanted for the room. It matched my fabric perfectly. You also get Krylon’s EZ Touch 360°™ Dial Spray Tip so you can spray at whatever angle you need to. I’m a big fan of it now!

I started out with a dresser that I’ve had since high school.

STEP ONE: I don’t particularly care for gold, so those handles had to go. I wanted knobs instead since you have so many more options. I filled in the holes with wood filler and sanded them down.

STEP TWO: I am a firm believer in sanding furniture before painting. One of the most important reasons is to remove any sort of finish or sealant that may be on the furniture. Some sealants or cleaners that were used on the furniture will cause your paint to splatter or spread instead of sticking to it. You have to remove those kinds of things to open up the pores of the wood so your paint is absorbed. The other obvious reason is to smooth out any splintered areas and things like that. I usually use my orbital sander for this step.

STEP THREE: Prime the piece. However, since I used the fabulous Krylon DUAL this step was eliminated and became the painting step.

STEP FOUR: Back to sanding. Why? Because I want the smoothest finish I can get. The magical tool for this step is this hi-flex sanding sponge.

It’s a much softer grain so it doesn’t strip the paint away. I painted on a VERY windy day so I had some drips and not-so-smooth areas. This puppy eliminated those just like that. I picked mine up at Louis and Company.

STEP FIVE: Glaze. I wanted a more vintage look to the furniture so I used Ralph Lauren’s Tobacco glaze. I brushed it on with a dry paint brush, then using a damp cloth, I wiped it off. I kept repeating this until it was the look I liked.

To get the glaze heavy on the edges, I angled my brush so it was only touching the edge and glided it across the entire edge. Then I just left it without wiping any off.

STEP FIVE: Polyurethane. This is another step that a lot of people skip, but I feel is SOOO IMPORTANT! You need to add a finish to protect your paint job and your furniture. I like to use the craft foam brushes to apply it.

After going through pretty much the same steps as the dresser (minus the wood filler and knobs), here is the finished crib.

And a little closer look at the glazing on it.

These two pieces are my favorite furniture refinishings I’ve done. I seriously L.O.V.E. them! Sometimes I like to just walk into my son’s room to look at them. Lots of bold colors in this room, and I’ve got even more to come. What do you think so far?

I love, love, love the green!!! It's unlike anything you would ever find in a baby store and that's part of what makes it awesome! I am loving all of the colors in the room. I can't wait to see it all put together!

Love the dresser but one question. I don't understand how the brown from the old dresser color comes out on the edges? It is due to glazing and wiping it off and some paint comes off with it? Or is it just the glazing that creates this look. Thanks, Lexie ><>

Yup, it's just the glazing that creates the look. On the edges I angled my brush so the glaze only touched the edges, so I didn't wipe it off. For the rest of the dresser, I wiped it off so it left just hints of the glaze behind.